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So what is On The Same Page?

What is the power of one book? Can it do more than enlighten and entertain individual readers? Can it impact the heart and soul of a community, help us to open new lines of communication and lay the groundwork for a stronger and better Forsyth County? We believe thatthe On the Same Page community read project, has potential to do just that. On the Same Page seeks to broaden appreciation of literature through the shared experience of reading and discussing a single work of literature. It offers us a unique opportunity to see things from a different perspective, one that will only expand our understanding of the world around us.

What are we reading this year?

“Vintage Front Cover”, copyright 1929, 1930, 1989 by Vintage Books, from THE MALTESE FALCON by Dashiell Hammett. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

Get ready to don your fedora, button your trench coat and sharpen your sleuthing skills as the Library prepares to celebrate the mystery genre in this year’s On the Same Page community read project. Dashiell Hammett’s classic mystery novel The Maltese Falcon has been selected as the featured novel. Set in 1920s San Francisco, the story follows hard-boiled detective Sam Spade through a six-day investigation over the missing Maltese Falcon and the murder of Sam’s partner. The Maltese Falcon is a time bomb that begins ticking in the first chapter, ticks faster as it progresses, and doesn’t detonate until the last intense page.

And how are we celebrating?

Well, if you check out the menu on the top of this page, you click to pages that give you our complete calendar of events, information for finding a book discussion, what films we’re showing, and when. You’ll see we have a page just for events for teens and kids! We WILL be doing a blog, so check it out; there’ll be all kinds of intriguing stuff to learn about Hammett, The Maltese Falcon, and our celebrations. Some highlights, you say? On the Same Page will kick off at the Bookmarks Festival of Books on Saturday, September 11th, and feature New York Times bestselling mystery writers John Hart and Erica Spindler and young adult mystery writer Bonnie Doerr. Programs will include a film noir series with special film showings of The Thin Man and The Maltese Falcon at the new A/perture theater. Other special programs will include a look at modern forensics, Dashiell Hammett scholar Richard Layman, a swing dance party and an architectural walking tour of downtown Winston-Salem.